Territorians need more support and better protections to afford the basic costs of living, including access to affordable housing, transport and electricity amid a difficult cost environment.
In the last year inflation reached the highest level in more than two decades.
The Northern Territory Council of Social Service’s October Cost of Living report found that it was near impossible for the Territory’s most disadvantaged residents to access private rental properties despite living in one of the wealthiest nations in the world.
The NT had the third highest private rent nationally for a 3-bedroom house.
A single person in Alice Springs receiving Job Seeker would be paying more than 80% of their income to rent a one-bedroom unit, while in inner Darwin it would cost more than their daily Job Seeker payment.
People who cannot get rentals have to try and access social and public housing, of which there is a shortfall of 12,000 houses and years-long waiting lists, and risk homelessness.
Average mortgage repayments jumped by almost $200 to $781/week in June 2023, requiring 34.4% of a family’s median weekly income.
“The current high cost of living is causing hardship to households that have housing stress, higher overall transport costs and therefore less money available for essentials such as food, electricity, transport and telecommunications,” NTCOSS CEO Dr Stephanie Kelly said.
“Affordable transport is crucial to providing people and families with access to services, support, and social participation.
“The effects of the cost of living crisis are becoming real and observable, pushing people to access welfare for the first time in their lives, with Foodbank telling NTCOSS about increasing numbers turning up to its Food Hubs with vouchers.”
Fuel prices across the remote areas of the NT remain excessively high.
Research by Tangentyere Council of Mparntwe’s (Alice Springs) Town Camps found that only 42% of respondents had a driver’s licence and 37% had a registered vehicle, preventing many people from even keeping appointments with doctors or Centrelink.
The September 2022 quarter saw the biggest single quarter increases for both electricity and water in the NT since December 2015.
Most households in remote Aboriginal communities and some urban public housing use prepaid meters for electricity, which become disconnected when not topped up. The rate of disconnections has been on the increase, leaving households across the NT without power for more than 6 hours per month on average.
NTCOSS has made a number of recommendations to the Commonwealth and NT Governments to reduce poverty and disadvantage for low income households, including:
• Federal Government to raise the base rate of Job Seeker and other working age income support payments to at least $78 a day, to support people to afford the basic costs of living.
• NTG to commit to:
o substantive reform of the Residential Tenancies Act 1999 (NT) to ensure Territory renters have at least the same rights and protections as other jurisdictions.
o implement and enforce restrictions on rent increases.
o provide protections for prepayment meter customers (as recommended by the NT Utilities Commission).
o expand the NT Concessions Scheme eligibility so all Health Care Card holders can receive Motor Vehicle Registration concessions and concession rates for users of remote bus services and ensure consistency of bus fare structures across different services.
Media Contact (08) 8948 2665 or media@ntcoss.org.au
Click here for the Cost of Living Housing Factsheet
Click here for the Cost of Living Transport Factsheet
Click here for the Cost of Living Utilities Factsheet